Microsoft just recently released the latest update for Windows 11, called Moment 5. As per usual, it's rolling out in a gradual process that's somewhat confusing, but at the end of the day, it's a nice update with some welcome improvements to Copilot and more. But who really cares about Moment 5 when we have Windows 11 version 24H2 (also known as the 2024 Update) coming out later this year?

This is the update we all thought was going to be called Windows 12 until Panos Panay left Microsoft and there was a big shift in strategy. So, despite the name change, there's a lot to be excited about here, which is something you can't really say about Moment 5. Here are some of the biggest reasons why you should be excited about the Windows 11 2024 Update.

5 Sudo for Windows

Now it's easier to run elevated commands

One annoying thing that can sometimes happen when using Windows Terminal is that if you want to perform any operation that requires administrator privileges, you need to launch the terminal as administrator from the beginning, so if you forget, it can be annoying to have to close the app and open it again as an administrator. There are ways to work around this, but it's not the most convenient, and thankfully, Microsoft is addressing it by implementing sudo, a capability that's more commonly found in Linux distributions.

Using the sudo prefix before any command in Windows Terminal will allow you to elevate that command (executing it as an administrator), even if the Terminal window wasn't elevated before. This means you no longer have to worry about launching an elevated Terminal window beforehand, and you can perform any task you want just by using the sudo command. It may seem like a small thing, but it's a very welcome addition.

4 You'll sound much better in meetings

Voice clarity becomes widely available

Last year, Microsoft introduced voice clarity as an AI-powered feature exclusive to certain Surface devices that had an NPU, like the Surface Pro 9 with 5G. But now, voice clarity is coming to all Windows 11 PCs, even if they don;t have an NPU. Instead, the feature now runs on the CPU, and it will make online meetings much better for everyone.

Voice clarity is essentially a form of noise removal, and it ensures you can be easily heard without distortion or background noise. Considering the quality of many microphones and the prevalence of remote work, any help getting better audio quality out of a meeting is sure to be welcome, and it's great to see it become widely available.

3 More options for archiving files

Say goodbye to WinRAR and 7-Zip

Microsoft finally added support for all kinds of archive types in Windows 11 version 23H2, but it was a very half-baked implementation. You can open file formats like RAR and 7z now, but you can't create them, and even if you open them, the extract button isn't shown in the same place as it is for ZIP files.

With Windows 11 version 24H2, however, Microsoft is taking this further, and we're getting a brand-new compression dialog that lets you choose the file format, the compression method, and more. If you've still been holding on to apps like WinRAR, there's going to be much less of a reason to do so after this update, and that's a good thing.

2 It will finally make Arm PCs better

Windows 11 is getting more optimized for the Snapdragon X Elite

One of the biggest changes coming in the Windows 11 2024 Update may seem like a low-key one, but it's actually very important. Microsoft has been working on significant underlying improvements to Windows so it runs better than ever on Arm-based devices. That will be good news for anyone with devices like the Surface Pro 9 with 5G and the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s, but even more importantly, it'll play a major role in the success of the upcoming Snapdragon X Elite devices. This latest chipset from Qualcomm is extremely promising in terms of performance and efficiency, and it needs the best chance it can get to shine.

This is a pivotal moment for Windows because, for the past few years, Windows PCs have been schooled by Macs thanks to Apple's transition in-house Arm silicon. Apple Silicon has made Macs the most efficient laptops on the market, offering a balance of performance and battery longevity that you can't find anywhere in the Windows space. With these optimizations and fully custom hardware from Qualcomm, Windows might finally have its answer to Apple Silicon.

1 The "AI Explorer"

The ultimate productivity assistant

The biggest feature in Windows 11 version 24H2 is also a bit of mystery at this point, as it's the only one Microsoft has yet to make available for Windows Insiders. However, we've heard multiple reports about some kind of ädvanced copilot", which is more recently being referred to as "AI Explorer".

Even with the scarce details we have so far, though this seems like the implementation of AI I've been waiting for in Windows. AI Explorer will essentially be able to build a timeline of just about everything you do on your computer, and make it searchable so you can easily go back to what you were doing. If you open a document or page with the word "pineapple" on it, you can ask Windows to "show me the thing about pineapples", and that instance will be brought up. It makes it so you don't have to worry about file names and locations, you just need to know what you were working on, and Windows will find it for you.

AI implementations in Windows have been lackluster in many ways, but if the 2024 Update can deliver on what reports have been teasing, then it could change how many people use their PCs. It's supposed to work with every app, which makes it far more exciting, since support for new Windows features is often something developers don't put a lot of time into.

There may still be a lot we don't know

These are just some of the most exciting features we know about right now, but with some development time still ahead of us before the Windows 11 2024 Update releases in September (give or take a couple of weeks), there's a good chance we'll see even more features get added by the time it launches. It's poised to be a big update, and while these five features are already exciting, I'm curious to see what else Microsoft might bring to Windows PCs.